ABC-Animal - Health Chonicle
Your Pet is an Insect's Buffet!
In summertime or in a tropical region, your pet gets bitten by insects around the nose, eyes, ears and and on the tummy.
PREVENTION, What to do
* Use a repellent that is inoffensive for animals in the form of an ointment, oil or lotion. Like you would for you or your children, think of safe products since your pet will lick its fur to try and remove an odour he may not like very much. Lotions with a citronella base are safe, even if this odour is offensive to dogs. By the way, the Amerindians used plantain oil to repel insects. Make sure to AVOID DEET, an effective but very toxic and potentially cancerous molecule.
What to do to CURE OR PROMOTE HEALING
* If you see the bee stinger, remove it with a pair of tweezers.
* Apply a cold water compress which will numb the pain, reduce skin inflammation and calm the animal.
* Here are a few soothing preparations. Do not allow your pet to lick them. Apply several times a day on the insect bites:
- Aloe Gel – you can get this soothing gel by cutting a branch directly from an aloe plant or by buying a tube at the pharmacy
- Paste made of water and baking soda
- Milk of Magnesia (or magnesium hydroxide);
- Paste made of water and meat tenderizer, which contains enzymes that help break down the poison that was injected.
- Ammonia on a cotton ball
- Vaporub Ointment for the flu
- Hydrocortisone Ointment (0.5%) available without prescription at the pharmacy.
* Treat your animal for insect-born diseases, such as heartworm disease.
* If the problem seems more complicated, consult you veterinarian without delay.
Caroline Fortin, D.V.M.
Veterinarian
www.ABC-Animal.com
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